Longbottom's Army
by Kerrymdb
Summary: Chapter Five is up! He’s fought Death Eaters, Fenrir Greyback and most importantly, his self doubt. When DADA is removed from the curriculum, and the trio gone from Hogwarts, Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood decide it’s time to bring back the D.A.
1. Hogwarts Divided

**Chapter One – Hogwarts Divided**

He walked with a limp now.

Two years ago, this would have bothered him to no end. Two years ago, he would have arrived to the Hogwarts Express an hour early to find a seat, just so that fewer people would have to watch him struggle up the steps. Two years ago, he would have hidden himself away, pretending that he simply didn't exist. If he believed it, perhaps everyone else would, too.

But that was two years ago.

Today, Neville Longbottom walked purposely towards the Hogwarts Express, his left leg just slightly out of step with the rest of his body. He had needed a walking stick at the beginning of the summer, but was determined not to use one for school.

A few people turned to stare, but Neville paid them no notice. A few students waved or said hello as he stood in front of the train. Neville waved back to those students.

There were four steps that he needed climb in order to get onto the train. At the end of the last school year, Luna Lovegood had helped him climb these steps. For just a moment, he wondered where she was, but then he focused on the task ahead of him.

Neville grabbed the handle on the door and stepped up with his right foot, quickly transferring all his weight onto that foot. Then closing his eyes tightly, he used all his effort to bring up his left leg. Then he transferred his weight to his left, and stepped up with his right, repeating the cycle until he reached the top.

A small line of students waiting to get on the train had formed behind him. "Sorry," mumbled Neville. He used magic to lift his trunk and put it away. Then came the arduous task of finding a compartment.

He couldn't help but notice that fewer students there were in and around the train. Neville looked around hopefully for someone he knew, like Luna or Harry, but he couldn't seem to find anyone. Finally, he sat in a compartment by himself.

The door was kept open by magic. Neville still reveled in the fact that he could do magic legally outside of school. Not that he ever tried to do magic outside of school when he was underage.

"Hi, Ginny!" Neville called out eagerly to the youngest Weasley. Ginny stopped and stood in the doorway.

"Hi, Neville," said Ginny softly.

She looked exhausted, like she hadn't gotten a good night's sleep in several days. "Do you want to share a compartment with me?" asked Neville with a smile, holding his hand out to the seat across from him.

"I'm going to sit by myself." Ginny tried to hide a small yawn, but failed. "I'm really tired and I just want to sleep the whole way."

"Sure," said Neville easily. "Do you know where Harry, Ron and Hermione are sitting? I don't want to sit alone for my last trip to Hogwarts."

Ginny looked down at her feet. "I don't know where they are," Ginny replied quietly.

"I'll look for them later, then," Neville told her.

Ginny's eyes flashed as she looked up. "No, Neville, I literally don't know where they are. They left the Burrow the day after my brother's wedding and no one's heard from them since."

"They're coming to Hogwarts, though, right?" asked Neville in disbelief.

She shrugged. "I don't think so," answered Ginny, walking away quickly without another word.

The train lurched, and Neville felt it starting to move. He looked outside. Neville couldn't quite believe that he was about to start his seventh year at Hogwarts. Thoughts from the past six years overwhelmed him. He certainly didn't feel like the scared, nervous boy that practically had to be forced onto the Hogwarts Express six years ago. Now Hogwarts felt like home, and he already felt a tingly anticipation to be going back. Especially after the summer he had.

This had been the most difficult summer that Neville had ever known. First there was the physical therapy he needed three times a week at St. Mungo's. He didn't like being at St. Mungo's that often. His grandmother thought it was great, that he could go see his parents that much more. But Neville simply didn't like seeing them so often. As much as he loved his parents, and he did love them, emotionally, it was exhausting spending so much time with them. And the days he chose not to visit, he felt guilty, like he was being a bad son. He was more than relieved to be sitting on this train, meaning that the summer had finally ended.

But Neville really didn't like the idea of being by himself for the entire train ride. This was a special trip; it should be shared. Just as he was about to stand up to search for someone to sit with, he heard, "Hello, Neville Longbottom."

Neville turned his head quickly and saw Luna Lovegood standing there. She was already in her school uniform, though a bit relaxed, with the buttons of her sleeves undone and her tie being used as a headband, pulling her hair off her face, which displayed her radish earrings.

"Hallo, Luna," said Neville with a grin.

"I walked up and down the corridors twice looking for you. I must have been distracted," said Luna.

Neville felt his ears turn slightly pink at the thought of her actually going out and looking for him. But he also wondered how she missed him. The door was wide open.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" she asked in that almost sing-song voice she sometimes used. Then in her regular dreamy voice, she added, "There are plenty of other compartments open, but I've grown used to sitting with you on the train."

He indicated the seat across from him. "There's plenty of room in here," said Neville.

Luna beamed at him and sat down quickly. "What were you staring at?" she asked.

Neville's cheeks reddened; she must have been watching him. "I was just thinking," Neville told her. "Seventh year and all."

Her eyes stared out the window as she brought her legs up under her. "It's my sixth year," she said matter-of-factly.

"I know," he said quietly. He thought about the letters they wrote to each other over the summer. He hadn't expected to hear from her. But three days after he was home, her large tawny owl had delivered him a letter.

She wrote about random things, about working at the Quibbler for the summer or waiting nervously for her O.W.L. results. He always wrote back as soon as he got the letter, less he forget, telling her a bit about his physical therapy, or about news he read in The Daily Prophet. And somehow, everything seemed to change between them.

Neville wasn't sure when it happened. He just knew that it had. Somehow, over the summer, they crossed that invisible line from acquaintances to friends.

Luna Lovegood was his friend.

Perhaps it happened so suddenly or slowly that he didn't notice. One day, she was writing about her inane theories, making his head spin. And the next, he found himself wondering about her opinion on certain matters. Wondering what her view would be. Her special, unique, off-the-wall, only from Luna view.

By the end of the summer, he was writing about his parents and she was telling him how nervous she was because she hadn't heard from her grandfather in more than a year. After Neville wrote back, to sympathize, she wrote that her grandfather was Mister Ollivander. Apparently, the wand-maker was her mother's father.

Neville peeked over at Luna, who was staring out the window, absently playing with her necklace of butterbeer corks. He had wondered what it would be like to see her again, after they had shared so much through their letters.

"Luna?" he asked suddenly. She turned and gazed at him expectantly. "Did you see Harry, Ron or Hermione on the train?"

She seemed to think the question over seriously for a moment. "I don't believe they're coming back to Hogwarts this year," she said finally. "I saw them in Diagon Alley only a few days ago and Ronald said something about a hunt. I think it's a secret, because Harry and Hermione looked angry after he said that. I don't believe they can hunt at Hogwarts. It's illegal in the Forbidden Forest, after all."

"No hunting," Neville said meekly.

"It's a shame, too, because I was hoping that Harry would start the D.A. again," she said, with a slight dream-like quality to her voice. "Last year proved that it would be useful."

Neville choked back a laugh. Useful, indeed! It certainly would have been useful to have more members of the D.A. fighting with them. Then maybe Professor Dumbledore…Neville shook his head, not wanting to think about that.

The rest of the train ride went pleasantly enough. They both bought candy from the lady behind the trolley and ended up trading most of it. Neville asked if she wanted to play Exploding Snaps, but she simply shook her head and told him that she didn't play card games. So she read a bit from the Quibbler, sometimes out loud, while Neville said hello to other students as they passed, and learned from Susan Bones that Zacharias Smith was Head Boy and Hermione Granger was supposed to be Head Girl. But since Professor McGonagall found out that Hermione wasn't going to attend Hogwarts this year, it went to Lisa Turpin, who had the next best grades.

Once the train stopped, Neville and Luna both stood up and went to the door. Luna started out right away, but Neville put his hand on her shoulder, asking her to wait. He wanted to leave the train last, so not to make anyone wait impatiently behind him.

When no more students walked to the front, they started walking down the corridor.

"You're still limping," observed Luna serenely. "I would have thought-"

"The Healers said it might be a while before it goes away," interrupted Neville quietly. "I don't mind it too much." Which was the truth. There were much more important things to be worried about than if he had a limp or not.

Hagrid's familiar form was waiting for them by the carriages with the Thestrals. Neville almost shuddered as they past them, remembering what it had been like riding one to London. He hadn't liked that at all.

They shared a carriage with Ginny, who simply stared out the window the entire time, answering with only one or two words if a direct question was asked to her. After a few attempts of conversation, Neville and Luna simply talked to each other and left Ginny alone.

Neville knew immediately that this school year was going to be different when the First Years started walking into the Great Hall, following Professor Flitwick, the new Deputy Headmaster of Hogwarts.

He looked around and saw that a staggering number of students were missing. He would guess that at least a third of the students weren't there. More than half of the Slytherin table was gone as well.

Over the summer, he had been preparing himself for an argument with his Gran, thinking that she wouldn't want him to come back this year. Hours were spent figuring out his reasoning, the one winning out the most being that he would be of age and his grandmother couldn't tell him what to do anymore. But luckily the subject wasn't even broached once his Hogwarts letters arrived.

Neville watched Professor McGonagall, now Headmistress, sitting in the chair that Professor Dumbledore had inhibited so readily. She didn't look uncomfortable, but she didn't look at ease, either.

Scanning the rest of the Head Table, he saw that Professor Slughorn was back for a second year. There was something very unsettling about the man. Neville had heard all about his "collection" and was grateful that the professor stopped inviting him to his get togethers after only a few.

He counted the professors again. One seemed to be missing. There should be a new professor to take over Defense Against the Dark Arts. Nudging Ginny, he asked her to count as well, and she came up with the same number. Perhaps it would be like fourth year, when Professor Moody made such a dramatic entrance.

There was an odd static of energy as Professor Flitwick picked up the Sorting Hat and called out, "Appleby, Kevin!"

A young black boy sat on the stool, his feet not quite touching the ground. "Ravenclaw!" the Sorting Hat shouted, and a loud applause broke out.

"Bletchley, Anita!"

The girl who responded to the name looked absolutely terrified. She sat on the stool and the Sorting Hat took it's time to decide. "Slytherin!"

There was only a scattered applause coming from the Slytherin table. Everyone around Neville looked upset and an angry murmur started around the Great Hall.

The next three students were sorted without incident. But when "Davis, Julia," became the newest Slytherin, jeers were thrown at the young girl as she walked quickly to the Slytherin table, her head hanging low. Neville felt absolutely awful for the girl, who buried her head in her arms the moment she sat down, her sister Tracey consoling her.

Millicent Bulstrode stood up angrily on the bench she had been sitting on. She simply stood there, hands on her hips, glaring at everyone at the other three tables. Millicent was so tall that everyone in the Great Hall must have seen her.

Neville quickly glanced at the Slytherin table. Malfoy was gone; there had been no sign up of him since he disappeared from Hogwarts with Professor Snape. Crabbe and Goyle were gone as well. Daphne Greengrass was missing, too. Only five of the nine original seventh years were at the table.

There were no more Slytherins sorted until "MacDonald, Jason." His older sister Natalie, a Gryffindor, burst into tears and the yelling became louder.

Neville gaped up at Professor McGonagall, wondering how in the world she was letting this happen. But she simply sat there, her hand over her mouth.

These were first years. Eleven year old children and the rest of the students were acting like it was now a crime to be sorted in Slytherin. He might not like everyone in Slytherin, he hated what Malfoy and Professor Snape did to Professor Dumbledore, but he certainly didn't hate everyone in the entire house. Especially not first years, whose only crime was to put a hat one their head. So Neville did the only thing he could think of.

Hardly believing what he was about to do, Neville stood up and started clapping. And not just a polite clap. Neville clapped as loudly as he could. He wanted these first year Slytherins to know that they had friends in other Houses, not enemies. Across the Great Hall, he caught Luna's eye, and she started clapping as well. A few other students, ones who looked as uncomfortable as Neville had, joined in, and then more and more, until the applause overtook the jeering and taunting.

Millicent, looking like an Amazon warrior standing tall on the bench, glared at Neville for a moment before finally nodding her head with a slight smile, sitting down.

The rest of the Sorting went without incident. When three other Slytherins were sorted, there was applause and no jeers. Once the sorting was complete, Professor Flitwick took the stool and hat away.

The Great Hall was silent the moment Professor McGonagall stood up. Everyone wondered what she would say, what she could possibly say to fill the gulf that Professor Dumbledore had left in his wake.

She eyes gazed over all four tables. "What House you are in does not matter as much as the fact that we are all Witches and Wizards. No matter what you believe, at our core, we are all the same," Professor McGonagall told the Great Hall. It was obvious from the murmurs that not all the students believed her.

"Before we eat, there are several announcements," she continued. "Hogsmeade visits will be restricted to those fifth year and above." She paused while there was moaning from some of the younger students. "Next, the Ministry of Magic has decided to remove Defense Against the Dark Arts from the curriculum-"

"What?" someone shouted from the Ravenclaw table.

"Have they lost their minds?" asked a loud Hufflepuff.

Professor McGonagall held up her hand and immediately, the Great Hall quieted. "This will be for one year only, while they decide to rework the course to include a more practical application to the lesson plan. Those who planned on taking the Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L. or N.E.W.T. will be able to participate in a monthly study group to discuss the basics. You will still be allowed to sit for the exams."

"What good will that be if we don't have the class?" muttered Dean Thomas, who was sitting across from Neville. "I don't think I'd even get an A without the class."

Secretly, Neville agreed with him. This was so disappointing, especially after he did surprisingly well in Professor Snape's class. Perhaps it was the confidence that he had gained from being in the D.A. his fifth year, but Defense Against the Dark Arts wasn't nearly as intimidating as he expected, even with Snape as the instructor.

Jerking his head up, he thought of the D.A. and how much they had learned that year. That was it! If the Hogwarts wouldn't teach them, they would teach themselves. Neville sought Luna's eyes from across the Great Hall. When their eyes met, he gave her a wide smile. She grinned back, even though she must not have any idea why he was so excited. It was perfect.

Neville and Luna would bring back the D.A.

**A/N – Yay! Neville and Luna are back! I've had this story idea in my head for quite a while now. At the moment, it's looking like it will be around twenty chapters. But I certainly reserve the right to add more. :) **

**Updates will be irregular for the next month because of some other writing activities, but once those are complete, I'll be posting on a regular basis. I desperately want to have this finished before Deathly Hallows is released. **

**I would love to know what you think! Thank you for reading the first chapter of what I hope to be a very interesting Neville journey! **


	2. Choosing the Willing, the Few

**A/N - Many thanks to codenamelily for her beta work!  
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**Chapter Two – Choosing the Willing, the Few**

The Feast couldn't end fast enough. When the sounds of wooden benches scraping across the floor overwhelmed the Great Hall, Neville eagerly headed towards the Ravenclaw table, his limp not allowing him to get there as quickly as he would like. Ignoring the looks from the Ravenclaws that were leaving the table - which seem to be a mixture of pitying stares towards his leg or, Neville realised with a blush, admiration - he sat down across from Luna.

"Are you doing anything tonight?" asked Neville eagerly.

Luna tilted her head and seemed to ponder the question. "I'm sure I'll be doing many things tonight, but I can always add something else to the list."

Neville's brow furrowed. "What sorts of things?"

"Breathing, walking, seeing, talking, your normal everyday type things."

He relaxed, selfishly relieved that Luna didn't seem to need to be anywhere tonight. Neville would have waited until tomorrow if she did, but he was just so anxious to talk about his idea tonight. "I'm going to go to Greenhouse Four to check on my plants. Would you like to come with me? I have an idea I want to talk about."

Her face broke into a wide smile. "Yes, please," she said happily, sounding so excited that Neville wondered if she worried he'd take the invitation away if she didn't sound enthusiastic enough.

They stood up and started towards the exit, passing the first year Slytherins, being led by Pansy Parkinson. Pansy stared at Neville for a second before going on her way again. Neville felt his cheek's redden, again, and wondered what the Slytherin Prefect thought of what he had done during the Sorting.

As Neville and Luna began the walk towards the greenhouses, he started to realise the enormity of what he had done. It wasn't very often that Neville truly stood up for what he believed in, and when he did, a trip to the Hospital Wing was usually in order.

First year, he had tried to stop Harry, Ron and Hermione from leaving the Common Room after dark and was humiliated for it. Then he had tried to single handedly fight Crabbe and Goyle – he chalked that up to losing his head for a few moments – and ended up in the Hospital Wing. And trips to see Madam Pomfrey were awarded to him both fifth and sixth years when he rushed to Harry's aid.

It was rather nice to stand up for something and not earn a pass to the Hospital Wing. Of course, the night wasn't over yet.

An unsettling quiet seemed to fall over the corridors leading to the greenhouses. It was so quiet, that Neville almost wished that a ghost or even Peeves would float by to create some noise. Briefly, Neville wondered if he could start telling Luna about his idea, but then decided that he'd rather be somewhere they couldn't be overhead.

Besides, Luna seemed content to walk in silence next to him. Occasionally, he would sneak a peek at her while they walked and she never seemed to be focusing straight ahead. She was always looking at something else. He was a bit envious of that. If Neville looked anywhere except right in front of him for a long period of time, he would trip over his two left feet easily.

They reached the greenhouses quickly enough. Whispering the password, Neville opened up the greenhouse door for Luna and then followed her inside. The moment he stepped inside and felt his feet no longer on the cool tile of the hallways but instead firmly on the dark brown earth of the greenhouse, Neville felt the constriction in his chest ease. He was always more comfortable in a greenhouse, any greenhouse than any other place in the world.

Methodically, Neville took off his school robes and rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt. Where to start? He smiled warmly at his Mimbulus Mimbletonia plant. It had grown over the summer and now practically took up an entire corner by itself.

Besides him, Luna practically squealed and went over to the workstation Professor Pomfrey gave him permission to use. "This is a Gawking Nettle!" she said excitedly, her eyes widening. "It's supposed to be extinct! How on in the world did you find one?"

"Gawking Nettle?" asked Neville, feeling a bit confused. "I bred it myself. I call it a Mellowsour plant. It's a Gawking Nettle?" He wondered if a Gawking Nettle was anything like a Crumple Horned-Snorkack. Neville didn't really think they existed, but sometimes he wished they did. It would be nice to believe in the improbable like Luna did.

"I've read all about them," Luna said, her eyes not leaving the plant. "It's been extinct for hundreds of years. I've seen drawings of them in a book of Daddy's." There was a hint of awe in her voice. "And you brought it back."

Neville let out his breath, sorry that he was going to damper her enthusiasm. "It wasn't intentional," he apologized. "I took Mellowsweet and Sage and cross bred them. I thought I was making something new."

"Gawking Nettles are supposed to have mystical healing powers," she said dreamily as she knelt down to get a better view. "If you burn the leaves, say a spell and inhale, it's supposed to cure any ailment."

"Firenze asked me to make it," Neville told her. "He thinks it will work better than Sage and Mellowsour on their own when he's trying to stargaze."

"I wish we knew the spell," Luna mused as she stood up and looked Neville. "We could cure your leg. But the spell's been forgotten for centuries."

"So can I just call it a Mellowsour plant?" asked Neville earnestly. For some reason, it made him a bit anxious to think he might have accidentally bred a plant that could have mystical healing powers.

"You really made this?" she asked in wonder. "All own your own?"

"I guess you could say that," Neville said, trying to keep the embarrassment out of his voice.

She looked down at the plant, reached out and gently stroked one of the leaves. "This plant exists because of you."

"I didn't create it or anything," Neville told her, wanting to make sure she understood that it wasn't nearly as special as she made it sound. "It was just an experiment, anything could have happened-"

Her hair whipped around as she turned towards him. "I think it's beautiful," Luna said finally.

The look of wonder on her face as she stared at him with her large, unblinking eyes gave him pause. Maybe she was right. Maybe it was beautiful that he could create something new. He had never thought that of it that way before. It certainly sounded much better than happy accident.

"Thank you," replied Neville, feeling his cheeks reddened. He was more than ready to change the subject away from himself. Deciding to broach the topic he asked her here for, he questioned, "What did you think of the Sorting?"

A flash of anger, an emotion that Neville never once associated with Luna before, crossed her face. But then it was replaced so quickly by her normal expression that Neville thought he might have imagined it. Funny, Luna seemed so calm, so accepting of everything happening around her that until now, Neville never realised how much emotion might be underneath the surface.

"It's not right to taunt first years like that," she said simply.

"I felt bad for them," Neville agreed. He decided to share something that he had never told anyone before. For some reason, he felt like he could tell her. "Did you know the Hat thought about putting me in Slytherin?"

Both of her eyebrows rose, which Neville took as a sign to continue. "Well, to be fair, the Hat thought about putting me in all four Houses. It took a while to decide." He smiled sheepishly. "For a bit, I thought that the Hat was going to set up a new House just for me and call it the House of All-Muggle."

An impish grin settled on her lips. "It was between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff for me," she told him.

"Hufflepuff?" asked Neville curiously. With all the courage she had, he was surprised it wouldn't have been Gryffindor.

Luna shrugged. "I think it was for loyalty," she replied. "I like Ravenclaw. The Hat made a good choice for me."

Neville sat down on a nearby stool and leaned forward. He wanted to talk about his thoughts about the DA. "I've been thinking."

She nodded encouragingly to him. "It's always good to think," she said seriously. "Especially when you have ideas. It might lead to more ideas. And then who knows what could happen."

"Well…I thought…Maybe we could…" Neville trailed off. What seemed like such a good plan in his head seemed a little ridiculous now that he wanted to say the words out loud. Neville and Luna, try to bring back the D.A.? Everyone would laugh at them. Who in their right mind would want to follow Neville as a leader?

"We could what?" asked Luna.

Taking a deep breath, Neville didn't let himself think as the words came tumbling out of his mouth. "I thought that with Defense Against the Dark Arts being removed that you and I could possibly, maybe, if we wanted, start up the D.A. again."

She stared at him for close to a minute before finally clapping her hands together. "I would love that! It would be so nice to pretend that I have friends again!"

"I'm your friend," Neville said before he could stop himself. He immediately blushed as soon as his brain registered his words. He wasn't used to having to define his friendships like that.

"You are?" she asked with wonder. "We're friends?"

Neville wished she didn't seem so amazed at the prospect of being friends with him. There were plenty of better people out there to be friends with. "We're friends," Neville told her, sounding more confident that he felt.

"I'll try to be a good friend to you, Neville Longbottom." Luna spoke as if she were reciting a vow. Though it was sort of nice as Neville didn't really have that many friends. It was nice to have someone be so excited about being friends with him.

"Thanks," Neville said, running his hand through his hair and hoping that his cheeks were no longer red from embarrassment. "So you'd like to help?"

Luna nodded. "If Defense Against the Dark Arts is back next year, I don't want to forgot everything before I have to take my N.E.W.T.S."

"I bet a lot of people feel that way," Neville mused. "I know I need as much help as possible if I'm going to have any chance on my N.E.W.T.S."

"Should we just have the same people as last time?" Luna asked as she sat down on a stool, bringing her legs underneath her, Indian-style.

A sudden image of one of the first year Slytherins crossed his mind. Neville asked cautiously, "How would you feel about inviting some Slytherins?"

Luna stared at him blankly, like she didn't understand the question. Finally, she replied, "Why did you ask that like you thought I wouldn't want to invite them?"

Neville let out a quick breath. He should have realised that she wouldn't have any issue with that. Ideas were forming in his head and he wasn't sure how to voice all of them. "I think it should be invite only," he told her, thinking about Marietta Edgecombe. "People who we can trust."

"Most everyone who was already in the D.A. can be trusted," Luna said. "They might not have shown up that night, but I think if they realised what was at stake, they would have. What about Slytherins?"

"Millicent Bulstrode, Pansy Parkinson…" Racking his brain, Neville tried to think of some others. He then remembered that Theodore Nott could see the Threstals. "And Theodore Nott. Anyone in your year?"

"Kevin Bundy hasn't called me Looney once since first year," Luna said thoughtfully. "I'd like to invite him. And Cecelia Warrington told me she read an article in the Quibbler last year and that she liked it." Luna's eyes were bright. "I don't think she was teasing me, either."

"That's five." Neville pondered for a moment, thinking of the students that were already apart of the DA. The majority of them were Gryffindor. If there were five Slytherins, he wanted there to be five Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws as well.

Luna might have been reading his mind, because she picked up her school bag and took out a piece of parchment and a quill. The parchment was almost completely covered with writing and doodles, but there was a small space near the bottom empty. She tapped the quill, which Neville noticed was one of the latest self-inking models and started writing.

While she wrote, Neville tried to glance and see what was on the parchment. There seemed to be Ancient Runes translations, star charts, doodles of animals that Neville certainly didn't recognize and lots of small loopy handwriting that he couldn't read.

"I didn't notice, was Hannah Abbott back this year?" asked Luna.

Neville tried to remember if he had seen her at all today. "I don't think she was," Neville said finally.

"It's so hard, losing a mother," Luna said so softly, that Neville wasn't sure that she meant him to hear. Then louder, added, "If Hannah's not here, there are only four Hufflepuffs left from last time. Susan Bones, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Ernie MacMillan and Zacharias Smith."

"Do you remember everyone that was in the D.A.?" Neville asked. He couldn't remember half of the people.

"Yes," Luna told him simply.

"Can you think of anyone else?"

"Megan Jones helped me pick up my books once when a Slytherin split my bag apart using magic," Luna said serenely.

Neville looked down at his hands. Luna had suggested three people now and all three were students that simply shown kindness to her at one point. So many people were cruel to her that it seemed liked anyone that showed her courtesy she might consider a friend. The thought made him sad somehow. Luna deserved better than that. "Add her to the list. Ravenclaws?" he asked.

"Terry Boot, Anthony Goldstein, Michael Corner, Padma Patil-"

"Padma and Parvati aren't at Hogwarts this year," Neville said quickly.

"Orla Quircke yelled at some of my Housemates for hiding my things at the end of term last year." Her voice was soft, and Neville could tell that whatever happened must have meant a great deal to her.

"Add her, then," Neville said, smiling for Luna's sake. "That's five. How many Gryffindors?"

"Five."

"I thought there were more than that," Neville said, feeling confused.

"The first time, it was practically all Gryffindors. But some graduated, Harry, Hermione and Ronald aren't here. And the Creevey brothers aren't back. That leaves, you, Ginny Weasley, Lavender Brown, Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan."

"So five from each House," Neville said, pleased with the list they made up.

"That's twenty people," Luna mused. "That's plenty."

Neville nodded his head in agreement. He glanced at his pocket watch and noticed that it was really time to get back to their respective common rooms.

Standing up, Neville did a quick check of his plants. Professor Sprout promised that they'd be well looked after and it looked like she kept her word. Not that he thought that she wouldn't take care of his plants.

"Do you want to meet tomorrow after dinner to keep working?" asked Neville.

Luna's reaction was much more subdued this time. She nodded somberly as she put the parchment and quill back into her schoolbag.

They left the greenhouse together and said goodbye when Luna had to turn right to go to the West Tower and Neville needed to head to the left for the Gryffindor Common Room.

He paused for a moment in front of the Fat Lady. Not knowing what to expect, Neville gingerly opened the portrait to the common room. Right away, he could tell that there were fewer students. His class had been halved. There had been eight, but with Harry, Ron, Hermione and Parvati gone there were only four left. With a start, Neville realised that Lavender would be all alone in her dorm.

He looked for Lavender, who was sitting by herself at a table. That alone was odd, as he was so used to seeing Lavender and Parvati giggling together. Neville glanced around for Dean or Seamus, and seeing that they weren't there, headed towards Lavender.

Her face was titled towards the window and her eyes were moving quickly, as if she was trying to find a snitch. When he pulled out a chair to sit down, Lavender looked up, startled.

"Hi, Neville," Lavender said without much enthusiasm and looked back out the window.

Now that he was sitting down, Neville didn't have the slightest idea what to say. He and Lavender never spoke very much. If he spoke with Parvati and Lavender together, most of his comments were direct to Parvati, who was generally much more willing to talk to him. Neville never had forgotten how Parvati stood up for him during their first flying lesson so long ago.

"Did you have a nice summer?" asked Neville awkwardly.

"Did any of us have a nice summer?" asked Lavender vaguely, not looking at him. She then seemed to think she was being rude or something because she shook her head and turned towards him. "It was fine, Neville, thank you for asking."

He nodded and looked towards the fireplace. Some students had already taken over Harry, Hermione and Ron's usual spots. That, more than anything today, made Neville realise that they weren't coming back to Hogwarts. It didn't seem right for a bunch of fifth years to have casually taken their seats like it wasn't a big deal. With a slight sigh, Neville remembered the start of his own fifth year. Bellatrix Lestrange was still in Azkaban and he spent everyday being practically terrified of his own shadow. How things have changed since then.

"I'm going to bed, Neville," Lavender said suddenly, standing up. "Have a good night." Neville watched her walk away and then stood up himself. He looked for Ginny, who must already be upstairs. Not seeing anyone else to talk to, Neville headed up the stairs to his dorm.

Dean and Seamus were sitting on their respective beds, already in their pyjamas. Neville then saw that Dean's trunk was on top of Harry's old bed and Seamus' trunk on top of Ron's. Neville's trunk was sitting at the foot of his bed and Trevor was sleeping comfortably in the cage that Neville finally decided to invest in over the summer.

"Thanks for seeing if I wanted an extra bed," Neville said jokingly, trying to hide his annoyance.

"No worries, mate," Dean said immediately. "We're going to play Quaffles, Parchment, Wands for the beds. Start of next term, we'll do it again."

"Okay," Neville said eagerly. He walked in between Dean and Seamus. The three young men all held their hands out.

"On three," Seamus said. "One, two, three!"

Neville curled his hand into a fist, which represented the Quaffle. Both Dean and Seamus held out their index fingers, a wand. "Quaffle smashes wand," Neville said happily, tapping his fist on both of their hands.

"Alright," Seamus grumbled. "One, two, three."

Dean stuck out his index finger again while Seamus held out his hand flat. "Wand beats parchment!" Dean exclaimed. "I'll keep Harry's bed. Neville, you get Ron's."

"Bloody hell," Seamus muttered under his breath, but levitated his trunk off of Ron's bed. Neville then eagerly moved his trunk into the space just vacated. Gently, he lifted Trevor out of the cage and sat down on his bed. Trevor was still sleeping, which meant he wasn't trying to get away. Neville couldn't help wondering where his old friend was always trying to run to.

"Everything feels different this year, doesn't it?" Seamus asked quietly.

Neville nodded while Dean mumbled something in agreement. "I just wonder why Harry, Ron and Hermione didn't come back," Neville told his dorm mates.

"Probably something stupid and dangerous," Seamus said quietly. "He always did think he was better than everyone else." The words were spoken without venom, just as a matter of fact.

"I don't think he really did, mate," Dean said seriously. "Just that whole, Chosen One thing. It would be tough for anyone to live with. I certainly wouldn't want it."

"Me, neither," agreed Neville. "Could you imagine You-Know-Who marking you?"

"No," Seamus said stubbornly. Neville wondered briefly if Seamus was still jealous of Harry like he had been fifth year. Maybe it never really went away.

"Neville, your frog's at the door," Dean said conversationally.

"Trevor!" Neville jumped off his bed and went to the door. He hadn't even noticed Trevor hop off the bed. Scooping Trevor up, he scolded, "One of these days I'm going to put a Sticking Charm on you. I bet you wouldn't like that."

Trevor simply stared at him, unblinking. Neville never thought that his toad really wanted to run away. But he also knew that if Trevor ever disappeared forever, he would be heart broken. Trevor had been his friend for almost ten years how.

Gently, Neville placed Trevor into his cage, but left the top open, not wanting the toad to feel confined. Neville, Seamus and Dean continued to talk and Neville wondered if he should bring up the idea of bringing back the D.A. But he decided it wasn't right. This would be Luna's project, too. They would decide together when they wanted to start telling people.

Later, when Neville was warm in his bed, under the covers, he thought about what an interesting day it had been. Hopefully no one would talk about his role in the Sorting too much. Just the thought of everyone talking about him made him uncomfortable. With a sigh, he had a feeling sleep wouldn't come too easily tonight.

If this was going to be what it was like the entire year, he knew he certainly wouldn't be bored!


	3. Recruiting Begins

**A/N - Many thanks to codenamelily for her beta work!**

* * *

**Chapter Three – Recruiting Begins **

"So what do you think?" Neville asked.

"I'm in," Ernie Macmillan said quietly. "When do we start?"

Neville paused. That's the one thing he wasn't sure of. More than a week had passed since classes had started, and he and Luna were still in the process of informing people.

It was a laborious process, trying to get each invitee on their own. They only had been able to speak to half of the ones they wanted toinvite. The last thing he wanted to do was set a firm date that was too soon. What if couldn't get to everyone in time? But on the other hand, a firm date could force them to work more quickly.

Neville made a quick decision. "First Hogsmeade visit."

"That's forever away," Ernie said. Neville was pleased to hear disappointment in his voice.

"First weekend in October," Neville told him. "That's only three and a half weeks away. We'll meet at the Three Broomsticks."

"Great!"

"One thing, Ernie," Neville started. Ernie leaned in, eager to hear what was to be said next. "This is invite only. We don't want the news getting around. Is that okay?"

"Certainly," Ernie answered, somewhat pompously. "You can trust me, you know that."

Neville nodded. "I know," he said with a smile. The warning bell rang, telling Neville that he and Ernie only had a few minutes to get to Herbology. As they walked, Neville told him who else they had spoken to. He didn't tell him who they still needed to talk to, in case, like Megan Jones, they didn't want to join, citing too many outside commitments. Luna and Neville had finally settled on Rose Zeller, who once seen wearing a pair of Spectrespecs from the Quibbler, according to Luna, to take her place.

As he and Ernie stepped into the Greenhouse, Neville felt his leg stiffen up on him. "Are you alright?" asked Ernie.

"Go on ahead, I'll be fine," Neville answered, heading towards a stool. The Healers warned him this would happen. Ever since he came back to Hogwarts, his leg hurt more and more. Madam Pomfrey told him that it was simply because his leg wasn't used to being used so much. Neville had had physical therapy during the summer, but nothing as vigorous as walking around the castle to get to his classes. He hoped that he became used to all the exercise soon.

Neville let his mind wander as Professor Sprout gave a lecture on the use of Mooncalf Dung as a fertilizer. Neither he nor Luna had talked to any Slytherins yet. There hadn't been a chance. The majority of Slytherin seemed to want to be invisible, a feeling that Neville knew far too well. But he promised himself that he would stop Millicent Bulstrode after class and ask her join. No matter how much her scowl intimidated him.

Finally, the bell rang and Neville stood up. The one good thing about his leg hurting was that he was right by the door. Millicent couldn't sneak out without him seeing. As she passed, Neville said, "Millicent, could I speak to you, please?"

Millicent put her hands on her hips and glared down at him. "What do you want, Longbottom?" she demanded.

"In private?"

To say Millicent looked surprised was an understatement. Her eyes narrowed and there was still a look of suspicion on her face. "Alright."

Neville followed her down the hall. He had hoped to speak to her in a place more private, but considering she had the longer legs and he had the limp, Neville really didn't have much choice in the matter.

"What do you want?" she repeated, crossing her arms over her chest.

Neville wondered where he should start. "Remember in fifth year? Dumbledore's Army? You knew about that, right?"

"Everyone did, because you lot were stupid enough to get caught," Millicent said with a snort.

Feeling a bit unsettled, Neville ignored the comment and continued, "Well, we want to start it up again."

"What's that have to do with me?" Millicent asked.

"We'd like you to join," Neville said simply.

"So I get to be the token Slytherin. How magnanimous of you." Millicent rolled her eyes and started to walk away.

"We're having the same number from each House, so everyone is equal." His voice was a little louder than he meant it to be.

Millicent turned around and stared at him hard for a moment. "This isn't a joke, Longbottom?"

"I get the pranks played on me, Millicent," Neville said, trying to convince her. "I don't play pranks on people. I know what that's like."

"You really want to invite me?" she asked, suddenly looking a little uncertain as she chewed her bottom lip. "I'm never invited to anything."

At that moment, Neville saw her a bit differently. For just a second, a wall dropped around her and she looked almost vulnerable. They were more alike than he had realised, both outcasts from their respective Houses. Somehow, he had never realised that Slytherins might be able to feel just as insecure as students from other Houses. He certainly knew that feeling of insecurity. Armed with new knowledge, Neville wondered if they could maybe they could even be friends. "I know the feeling," he told her.

"How's it work?" she asked.

And just like that, Neville knew that he had uncovered an alley in the Slytherin House. Maybe reaching out to them wouldn't be nearly as difficult as he thought.

Neville gave her all the details of when they would be first meeting. He also stressed the need for secrecy. That last thing that was needed was for this to get out and then everyone clamoring to join.

"Okay, then," Millicent said, almost looking pleased. She turned and started to walk away, but then stopped and looked at him once more. "Thanks, Longbottom."

Neville nodded. "You're welcome."

* * *

"Oi! Neville!" a voice shouted behind him. Neville turned around and saw Seamus walking towards him. "Quidditch try-outs are starting. Do you want to watch? I want to see if Dean makes the team." 

"Dean was on the team last year, wasn't he?" Neville asked. "He's got to try out again?"

"He was technically a reserve last year. Princess Weasley is making him try-out again. I don't know why she's bitter. She dumped him, not the other way around," Seamus said sourly.

Neville decided he couldn't let that comment pass. "Ginny is not a princess, Seamus," he said seriously.

Seamus rolled his eyes. "What would you call her? She sat around, breaking boys hearts until Prince Potter came to call."

"That's not fair," Neville said. "Besides, I heard they aren't even together anymore."

The smile on Seamus' face was far too vindictive and Neville wondered just how hurt Dean had been because of their break-up. Seamus must know all the gritty details.

Deciding to change the subject, Neville asked, "Why aren't you trying out?"

"Have you ever seen me on a broom?" Seamus laughed. "As much as I love Quidditch, it's really not a pretty sight. I'm much better off on the ground."

Neville said nothing, thinking of his own unpleasant experiences trying to become a better flyer.

"So are we watching try-outs?"

"Sure," Neville said easily, pleased that Seamus wasn't upset that Neville tried to defend Ginny. He switched his school bag to his other shoulder and they started walking towards the field. Once outside, he saw Luna by the lagoon, lying on her back, staring up at the sky. "Can Luna watch, too?"

"Luna?" Seamus' eyebrows shot up. "Are you two-"

"No," Neville said quickly, feeling his cheeks redden. It wouldn't be good to leave the wrong impression. "We're friends, that's all."

Seamus shrugged. "Sure, if she wants to watch Gryffindors on brooms."

"Go ahead," Neville told him. "We'll catch up."

Seamus kept walking towards the Quidditch pitch while Neville headed towards Luna. It was the second Saturday of term, and the weather was absolutely beautiful. As he walked closer to Luna, he saw that her eyes were tightly closed and Neville almost wondered if she was asleep.

If she was, he certainly didn't want to wake her. He chewed his bottom lip for a moment, wondering what he should do. But then Luna said, without even opening her eyes, "Hello, Neville Longbottom."

Surprised to say the least, Neville knelt down next to her. "How did you know it was me?"

Eyes still closed, she said, "Because it's you."

Having no argument to that, Neville asked, "Seamus and I are going to watch the Quidditch try-outs. It's Gryffindors, so it might bore you, but I thought I'd ask if wanted to watch with us."

Her eyes opened slowly and she seemed to study his face. Neville was about to worry if he offended her somehow when she asked, "Is watching Quidditch try-outs something that friends do together?"

"Sure," Neville said, pleased that she hadn't rejected the invitation as Luna sat up. There was some grass in the back of her hair and without thinking Neville reached out and brushed it off. She looked at him with her unblinking eyes and Neville felt his face redden once again. "Sorry," Neville muttered.

They walked towards the pitch, Neville doing most of the talking about who was trying out. When he asked if Luna knew who would be on the Ravenclaw team, he wasn't surprised when she said she didn't know.

As they took their seats next to Seamus, Neville saw that the warm-ups were just ending. Ginny, the captain, was sitting side saddle on her broom, high in the air. A whistle blew and all of Quidditch hopefuls lined up.

Ginny had quite a job ahead of her; a number of Gryffindors secretly thought that this might be a rebuilding year for the team. They needed a Keeper and a Chaser, not to mention a Seeker. Hard to believe that they needed a new Seeker at all, Harry had been their Seeker for so long. Neville felt sorry for the person taking his place. It was assumed that Robins, Coote and Peakes were all going to return, leaving a fairly inexperienced team. Only Ginny would have been on the team for more than a year.

Once try-outs started, it was obvious to see who could fly and who couldn't. There seemed to be a second year whose name Neville couldn't remember (Melinda? Matilda?) who seemed to be a shoo-in the Chaser spot.

He glanced over at Luna at one point, and she was staring down at her feet, not watching the action at all. Neville realised that he hadn't been paying her a lot of attention, his mind focused on the try-outs.

Just as Neville was thinking of something to say to her, Seamus leaned over and asked, "So it's still on?"

Luna looked up hearing that. "The DA?" she said quietly.

Seamus nodded. "First Hogsmeade visit," Neville reminded him. It took two weeks, but Neville and Luna were able to speak to everyone they planned on inviting. Neville had been right in thinking that a firm gathering date would motivate him and Luna to speak to the remaining student. There was only the one rejection; everyone else couldn't wait for the first weekend in October.

"We can't do it sooner?" asked Seamus.

Neville was pleased to know that Seamus was looking forward to the meeting. "Not for the first one."

"Excellent," Seamus grinned. "Who's going to run it?"

"I'm not sure," Neville answered. Thinking of their previous conversation, Seamus might not like who he had in mind. "I was thinking Ginny might."

"Of course," Seamus said, shaking his head. "You've a crush on Weasley, too?"

Neville realised that there were two sets of eyes on him, waiting for his answer. "No, I don't," Neville said simply. "But Ginny's been right in the thick of everything when it comes to You-Know-Who. She was even possessed by him, for goodness' sake. And she knows how to be a leader."

"If you say so," Seamus said, rolling his eyes. He did that far too much, in Neville's opinion. "I just thought that since it was your idea, you'd be in charge."

"Me?" Neville practically squeaked.

Seamus leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. "Why not? You've fought just as much as Ginny has."

"I don't think I'd be any good," Neville said, feeling a bit heady at the very thought.

"Just an idea," Seamus said casually, focusing back on the try-outs, which seemed to be winding down.

Neville looked over at Luna, wanting to get her thoughts, but then Ginny was flying towards the small crowd that had gathered in the stand. Behind her, a number of students were either flying around happily or landing and walking away dejectedly.

"Here's the team," Ginny said loudly. "Beaters are Coote and Peaks, Keeper is Darren Wood, Chasers are Robins, Dean Thomas and Melanie Johnson. I'm going to be Seeker."

Seamus' grin took almost took up his entire face. "Told you you'd make it, Dean!" he shouted towards the crowd on the pitch. Dean waved back with a smile.

"Why is Ginny Seeker?" Neville asked as he, Luna and Seamus started walking back to the castle.

"Didn't you watch the try-out? There was no one half way decent that could be Seeker. At least Ginny's played the position before and had some success," Seamus answered.

"But she likes being a Chaser," Neville said.

"She's doing what's best for the team, I'll give her that," Seamus said begrudgingly.

Neville decided to change the subject. "I didn't know Oliver and Angelina had siblings."

"Darren is a third year, I think," Seamus said thoughtfully. "I'm pretty sure that Melanie is only a second year. Ginny must be trying to get the team younger. Fly together for a couple of years and they'll be pretty good."

"Of course, we'll be long gone by then," Neville laughed.

"There's Dean," Seamus said. "See ya, Neville!"

He ran off, leaving Neville and Luna by themselves. Suddenly, Neville felt horrible. He had asked her to watch the try-outs and he practically ignored her, being too caught up in everything.

"I'm sorry."

Luna looked alarmed. "What for? Did you do something that you need to apologize for?"

"Maybe?" Neville said, feeling distinctly off-footed. "I didn't mean to ignore you."

"When?"

"During the try-outs," Neville said awkwardly.

"But you invited me to watch the try-outs," Luna said, titling her head, causing her radish earnings to shake slightly. "And you watched them."

"That's true." Neville realised she left herself out of those who 'watched.' "I thought you liked Quidditch," he said. "You know enough to have been a commentator last year."

Her eyes grew wide. "Are you making fun of me?"

Neville's jaw dropped. "Of course not," he said. "Why would you think that?"

"No reason," Luna said and she started walking towards the castle again. Neville simply shook his head and hurried to catch up.

When they entered the castle, there seemed to be a buzz in the hallway. Something was wrong. He wasn't quite sure how he knew that, but something was most definitely wrong.

"Do you think a Bedridden Azia slipped into the castle?" Luna asked quietly.

"What's that?" He was grateful for something to take his mind off of the scene in front of him. Student were all talking to each other in low voices and some looked either scared or upset. Neville couldn't quite tell which.

"An Azia is a type of insect that makes people unhappy," Luna told him. "A bedridden one is ever worse."

"How does it get around if it's bedridden?" Neville asked.

"That's why it's so unhappy." Luna looked towards the ceiling, her eyes going back and forth quickly.

Neville saw Professor Sprout hurrying down the hallway. Walking up to her quickly, he asked, "Has something happened, Professor?"

"You haven't heard the news?" she asked, a somewhat frantic twinge in her voice. "You-Know-Who was spotted at The Daily Prophet's Diagon Alley office. Death Eaters then destroyed the entire building."

"Was anyone-"

"The office was fully staffed. At least ten people were killed, perhaps more," she said, shaking her head. "Excuse me, Neville, the entire staff is meeting..."

Professor Sprout turned down the hall towards the staffroom. Neville looked at Luna, whose face was white. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"There are a few Quibbler reporters that work at The Daily Prophet," Luna said, her eyes filling with tears. Neville had never seen her so upset. "Daddy can't afford to pay anyone, so they still have to work a day job, and some want to work in journalism… Even the Daily Prophet's type of journalism…"

"Could you send your father an owl?" Neville suggested, pleased he came up with an idea so quickly.

She nodded and walked off before Neville had a chance to say that he'd go with her. It took him a bit to catch up because she was walking so fast. "I'll walk with you," he said quietly.

"Thank you." Luna crossed her arms over her chest so it almost looked like she was hugging herself. Her pace didn't slow and they made what must have been record time to the Owlery.

Putting two fingers between her lips and whistling, a beautiful tawny owl flew down from the rafters and perched itself on Luna's shoulder.

"You have an owl?" asked Neville, reaching out and stroking the feathers.

"Neville, meet Beyla," Luna said, with a hint of fondness coming through. "I've had her since first year."

"She's beautiful," Neville said. He always wanted an owl, though he was perfectly happy with Trevor.

"Thank you," Luna said absently as she rummaged through her bag, finally bringing out a quill and piece of parchment.

But just at that moment, an owl flew through one of the windows and landed gently on Luna's other shoulder. Luna looked relieved. "This is Grani," she told him, working to get the piece of parchment untied from the owl's leg. "Daddy's owl."

It obviously took Luna longer than she wanted to untie the parchment, because she actually stamped her foot in frustration.

Neville thought about the emotions she had displayed over the last two week, something that she really never had done before. He wondered if she was showing frustration or fear or any other emotion because she trusted him enough to show those feelings. Neville found himself hoping so. He had meant it when he said there were friends, after all.

"Everyone is safe," Luna said, relief pouring through face. She wrote a quick note and sent her father's owl off again. Luna stared after the owl for so long that Neville was about to become worried when she said, "I'm a horrible person."

"What?" Neville asked in surprise. "Why would you say that?"

Luna shrugged one shoulder, and her owl flew upwards, towards the top of the Owlery. "I hoped that no one I knew was killed," she said finally, not looking at him. "That's the same as hoping that someone I didn't know was killed. It's not very nice to wish death on anyone."

Neville was silent, trying to reason an argument. He certainly didn't believe what she said. But Luna did, and he could tell that she was upset.

"I don't think that's true, Luna," Neville said slowly. He could give her an easy example, but Neville found himself debating how much to share. "When I was a baby, something bad happened to my parents. Something that I wish hadn't happened to them. That doesn't mean I wished for it to happen to someone else's parents. I wish it hadn't happened at all."

Luna looked unconvinced so Neville continued, "Just because you hoped it wasn't someone you knew was killed, doesn't mean you hoped that someone would be killed. It means that you didn't want it to happen at all."

She stared out the window, and Neville followed her gaze into the Forbidden Forest. As far away as they were from the forest, Neville could still see the white, shining eyes of the Thestrals.

"More and more people will be able to see the Thestrals soon," Luna said quietly.

"That's not a pleasant thought," Neville said.

"At first I thought it was exciting to see something that other people couldn't." She turned her back to the forest and looked at him. "I thought I was special. Now I would give anything not to be able to see them."

"Me, too," Neville said in practically a whisper.

"We're right to bring back the D.A.," Luna said, her voice stronger now. "If You-Know-Who can get into Diagon Alley, eventually he might be able to attack Hogwarts. We can't just expect the teachers to protect us. We'll have to protect ourselves."

"I can't imagine that he'd be able to into Hogwarts," Neville said, then immediately realised how foolish that sounded, seeing as Death Eaters were able to get into the castle last year. "I mean-"

"I understand what you mean, Neville," said Luna. "Sometimes, it's just it feels like that summer when the Migrating Biloko were supposed to appear."

"What's a-"

"Mother was still alive then, so the three of us spent practically the entire spring preparing. Biloko like nothing better than treasure. So we buried all of the jewelry and money in the backyard. Mother still wanted to wear jewelry, so we made our own using vegetables. She made me these earrings." Luna paused and pushed a bit hair back behind her ear so that Neville could get a look. "We had everything ready and the Migrating Biloko never appeared."

Neville decided this wouldn't be the most appropriate time to ask what in the world a Biloko was, so he said, "But what if they did come? Your family would have been ready. I bet a lot of other families wouldn't have been. My gran certainly wouldn't have been ready. It's like the D.A. You-Know-Who might never attack Hogwarts. But if he does, we'll be ready."

Luna smiled slightly, and Neville hoped that he helped ease the worries of his friend, even just a little bit. "Yes, we will," she said seriously. "We'll be ready.

* * *

**A/N - Thanks to everyone who caught that if Padma's not at Hogwarts, she can't be Head Girl. Can't believe I missed that. Lisa Turpin of Ravenclaw is Head Girl.**


	4. Logistics

**A/N - Many thanks to codenamelily for her beta work!**

* * *

**Chapter Four - Logistics **

During his first year, whenever Neville was lonely or upset – which was often – he always found solace in Greenhouse One. It was the greenhouse for first years, where the least dangerous plants were kept. There was a comfort in working with the Dittany plants, Flitterbloom or Belladonna. He would talk to the plants, like Professor Sprout suggested, and it felt like he had friends.

The fact that plants could be dangerous never entered Neville's mind. Even after he had received his first Herbology injury – a bite from a Fanged Geranium – Neville still wasn't scared. To him, plants were simply easier to understand than magical theory.

Greenhouse One was still his favourite greenhouse, not because of the plants inside – that would be Greenhouse Five – but because of the feeling of comfort that always enveloped him whenever he stepped inside.

It was in Greenhouse One where Neville was sitting, books and rolls of parchment scattered in front of him. In a bout of inspiration, Neville had owled his old Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor, Professor Lupin for help. Not mentioning the D.A., Neville wrote that he would like some help studying for his N.E.W.T.S. Professor Lupin responded quickly, eagerly providing the seventh year lesson plan he had used when he taught at Hogwarts.

The information was invaluable. Neville tried to organise the lesson plans to give to whoever ended up being the leader of the D.A. Both he and Luna decided that there should be a vote during the first meeting at the Three Broomsticks.

The greenhouse door opened. Neville looked up and saw Luna walking towards him, holding a roll of parchment. They were meeting to make last minute preparations before the meeting tomorrow.

"I made the sign-up sheet," Luna said happily as she sat down next to Neville, but not before casting a quick blanket spell on the earth.

"May I see it?" Neville asked. They had debated for hours whether or not there should be a sign-up sheet. Both were far too aware of what happened the last time the D.A. had one. But then Luna had a brilliant idea.

"Here," she said almost shyly, handing Neville the parchment.

Neville quickly unrolled the parchment and his eyes widened in amazement. Luna had drawn twenty different magical creatures, one for each member of the D.A. The other columns indicated possible meeting times. Each row represented a different D.A. member, to tell them when they could meet. Each person would mark an X below times they could attend a meeting.

Luna had memorised who was who as a show of trust to the D.A. If anyone was to find the sign-up sheet and somehow manage to discover its purposes, the D.A. would know who to blame. Neville had been resistant at first, not wanting to put that sort of pressure on Luna, but she seemed to look at it almost like a game of sorts.

"You drew all these?" asked Neville. The drawings themselves weren't the greatest quality, but what amazed him was the variety. These were animals that Neville would have never been able to imagine on his own.

Luna nodded. "Charmed them to move for fun. I thought about having them make sounds, but decided that might get annoying after a bit."

"Which one am I?" asked Neville curiously.

She pointed to a creature that seemed to have a lion's body with wings that appeared to have dragon wings sprouting out of its back. The head was a horse with a bright red spot in the middle of its forehead and a tail that he didn't recognise. "This is you. It's a Winged Barrett."

"What's the spot on the forehead?" asked Neville. He didn't have the slightest idea what a Winged Barrett could possibly be, but the picture looked interesting enough.

"It's the same type of spot a Clabbert has," Luna told him. "It senses danger."

"So what exactly does it do, exactly?" Neville asked.

To his surprise, Luna seemed to blush a bit. "It's a wonderful animal," she said. "Lives in Africa. It helps some tribes with their herding and can act as a guardian."

"That's me, Neville the herder," he said with a laugh. Looking at the parchment again, he asked, "Which one is you?" She pointed to the only non-moving creature on the parchment. A hare. "You didn't draw a magical creature for yourself?"

"That's my Patronus form," she told him, raising her chin slightly in a defiant manner. "And I'll have you know that hares are some of the most magical creatures out there. Don't let their mild demeanor fool you."

"I'll remember that," Neville said with a grin. He went back to looking at the parchment. "Which one is Ginny?"

"A Heliopath," Luna said. "A spirit of fire. I thought it worked for her."

"That certainly does," Neville agreed. He continued asking about various students, trying to unsuccessfully hold back a snigger when Luna told him she assigned a Wrackspurt to Ernie Macmillan. She simply blinked and tilted her head curiously when he tried to explain why he thought it was perfect for Ernie.

When curfew approached, Neville placed the books and parchments back into his school bag. "What are we doing?" he asked suddenly as his stomach all at once turned into knots.

"We're about to leave so that we don't break curfew," Luna said matter-of-factly.

"I know," Neville said, running his hand over the back of his neck. "But tomorrow?" Luna opened her mouth to speak, but Neville cut her off, knowing that she was about to say that they had the meeting tomorrow. "Why do we think that anyone will listen to us?"

Luna lowered her head and looked thoughtful. "No one would have agreed to show up if they didn't want to listen to what you had to say."

"I just don't want to make a fool of myself," Neville admitted softly. Looking foolish was something he hadn't worried about in quite some time. Why would he worry about that now?

"Have you ever looked foolish before?" Luna asked curiously.

Neville let out a laugh at the question. It was one Luna should know the answer to. Thinking of all the times he had made a fool of himself, he replied, "Yes, I have certainly have looked foolish before."

"Did the earth stop spinning?"

Confused, Neville asked, "What do you mean, did the earth stop spinning?"

"Did it?" Luna asked, leaning back on her hands.

"No," Neville said, still not sure what she meant.

"Then it won't stop tomorrow if you look foolish," Luna said with a sigh, staring at a potted Fluttery Bush.

Neville looked down and smiled. "The world won't end," he agreed. "I just want things to be perfect, you know?"

"I know," Luna said. "Perfect can be nice. But I prefer mistakes. They really are much more interesting than perfection."

"I guess," Neville said uncertainly.

"Everything will go fine tomorrow," Luna told him. "And if it doesn't, there really isn't much you can do about it, is there?"

Neville sighed. She certainly did have a point.

* * *

The next morning, Neville woke up to a cloudy grey sky and wondered if he could somehow stay in bed for the entire day. Knowing that keeping his head underneath the covers simply wasn't a possibility, Neville sat up, and tried to ignore the slight flutter in his stomach. 

He could hardly believe that five weeks had already passed since school began. There were times when it felt like only yesterday he stepped on the Hogwarts Express. But then again, there were also times when he thought that the sands in the hourglasses were glued together.

It was almost time for the second monthly official study session for the Defense Against the Dark Arts classes. The first one was a bit of a joke. An official from the Ministry had come to lead the study session. There was no practical part of the session; they only sat around a table and answered questions that could easily be looked up in a textbook. Neville hoped desperately that the D.A. would be able to do better than the Ministry!

Neville looked around. The room was empty except for him; Dean and Seamus must have already gone downstairs for breakfast. He walked to the window and looked outside, seeing flashes of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. A smile formed on his lips knowing that the Quidditch season started in only two weeks. Ginny had told him that she was secretly impressed with the Gryffindor team so far, but she hadn't told them that. She didn't want them thinking too well of themselves this early in the season.

The icy-cold sensation in his stomach was disappearing. Luna was right. There was absolutely no point to worrying about how the first meeting would go when there wasn't much he could do to control the outcome.

These comforting thoughts in his mind, Neville quickly got dressed and headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast. He passed a number of students that had been invited to the first meeting, and they all seemed to smile or wave at him. And these were people who wouldn't normally notice him. It almost made Neville feel like he was really accepted, which was a very nice feeling, one he wasn't used to at all.

At the Gryffindor table, he sat next to Ginny, who was in a deep discussion of various Quidditch strategies with Keeper Darren Wood. Apparently, his brother had been owling him training ideas and Darren was eager to share.

Not having anyone to talk to, Neville looked over at the Ravenclaw table, wanting to catch Luna's eye. She wasn't there, and Neville felt a sense of disappointment. Not that he had asked, but he had just assumed that they would walk over to Hogsmeade together. Well, she would walk and he would limp. His leg still wasn't doing nearly as well as the Madame Pomfrey had hoped. She was even talking about sending him to St. Mungo's during Christmas break if he didn't start walking better soon.

Neville didn't really mind the not walking well part. All his professors knew, so they never scolded him if he was a minute or two late to class. He wasn't in pain, and that's what mainly concerned him. As long as Neville remained pain-free, he could limp until the Thestrals came home.

Once breakfast was complete, and students started filling the queue to be allowed into Hogsmeade, Neville lingered behind, hoping to see Luna bounding down the stairs. He waited until Filch told him to hurry up or he could forget about Hogsmeade. So Neville started the short trek towards the wizarding town.

The sky was still overcast; it was the type of day where he would be pleased to sit inside the Three Broomsticks with a warm butterbeer and watch the people bustling through the streets. He felt sorry for the third years, who had been looking forward to the trips all summer, and even worse, the fourth years, who went to Hogsmeade last year and now were no longer allowed to go.

About halfway to Hogsmeade, a shooting pain coursed through Neville's leg. He stood still for a moment, waiting for the pain to subside.

"Neville!" a voice shouted behind him. Neville smiled, recoginising Luna's voice. "Are you alright?"

He turned, and Luna relaxed immediately. "You stopped, and I thought-" Looking embarrassed, she stopped speaking and put her hand on her cheek.

"What did you think?" asked Neville curiously.

"I thought a Podmeister might have gotten you." Luna shook her head and laughed while Neville resisted the temptation to ask just what one was. "Silly of me, wasn't it? Pomeisters are never up this far north in October."

"My leg just hurt for a moment," Neville admitted. "I'm fine now."

Luna looked down at her feet for a moment, then held out her arm to him. "Do you want help?"

Neville flashed a smiled, pleased that she asked if he wanted her help, not if he needed her help, like several professors and students had done since school had started. He shook his head. "I'm fine, honestly." Then before he could stop himself, added, "You weren't at breakfast."

"I wasn't hungry," Luna shrugged. "Not much point to sitting in the Great Hall if you're not going to eat."

They started walking again towards Hogsmeade, a silence falling between them. At the edge of town, Neville paused, not sure what to do. "Do you want to go sit in the Three Broomsticks?" he asked uncertainly. "We could wait for everyone to show up and join us."

Her head tilted to one side thoughtfully. "You don't want to make a grand entrance?"

Neville laughed. "I think I'd prefer to blend in with the wallpaper than make a grand entrance," he told her.

"I could use a Yellow Rattler," she said as they headed up the walk towards the Three Broomsticks. "What do you like to drink?"

"I'm a butterbeer man, myself," Neville told her. The truth was Neville had never had anything stronger than a butterbeer. He had thought about ordering a glass of wine when he went out to dinner this his grandmother on his seventeenth birthday, but found he didn't think he could drink in front of her.

Luna held the door to the bar open for him. "Go get some tables for the group," Luna told him. "I'll get drinks."

Neville nodded and headed towards the corner of the bar and sat down. From his vantage point, he watched Luna order the drinks from Madame Rosmerta, who was still a bit on the jumpy side, having been placed under the Imperius Curse in her own bar last year.

A few minutes later, Luna returned with a butterbeer for him and an odd looking drink that looked like orange juice, but not quite, seeing that there was an onion cocktail stick included. She saw him looking at her drink and asked, "Do you want a sip? Yellow Rattlers are very good."

Neville was always fairly conservative when it came to trying new foods. He started to shake his head, but then on an impulse, said, "Yes, please."

Once she sat down next to him, Luna handed Neville the glass. Trying not to look to obvious, he sniffed the drink. Finding the smell acceptable, Neville took a small sip. There was definitely orange juice, but there was another taste, something flowery. All and all, not a bad drink, but something that he didn't think he would order for himself. "Thank you," he said, returning the drink to her.

"You're welcome," Luna said.

Neville looked at his watch. It was ten-thirty. They had asked for everyone to arrive by noon, to try to blend in with the lunch crowd. Only an hour and a half to go…

"Who do you think will arrive first?" Luna asked.

He tried to think about the question seriously. Who had seemed the most excited about the group, besides him and Luna? "Ernie Macmillan," he said slowly.

Luna looked pleased. "That's who I thought, too."

They were both wrong. Neville was surprised to see Millicent Bulstrode enter the bar, somewhat uncertainly, at fifteen minutes after eleven. He raised his hand and motioned her over. How in the world would they make small talk with Millicent for forty-five minutes?

After stopping by the bar, Millicent sat down at the table next to them, holding some sort of dark green drink. She looked nearly as uncomfortable as Neville felt. "Hallo," she said uneasily. "I hope you don't mind that I'm early."

Neville shrugged and tried to think of something to say. He finally settled on something dealing with Quidditch when Luna said softly, "Thank you for helping me last week."

Millicent shifted in her seat. "My housemates can be idiots sometimes," she said, rolling her eyes.

"True," Luna agreed, causing Millicent's eyes to narrow. "But you didn't have to stop them from taunting me. Thank you."

"You're welcome," Millicent said, her cheeks reddening a bit.

After that, the conversation seemed to flow fairly easily. By eleven-thirty, more students showed up, each one entering the bar with an excited look on their faces that Neville found almost humbling. Everyone seemed so pleased to be involved. Neville again hoped that the meetings would live up to their expectations.

By five minutes to twelve, all twenty students were there, sitting at four different tables. Neville was pleasantly surprised to see that all of the Slytherins had shown up, even Pansy and Nott. And more importantly, not one table represented one single house. Hufflepuffs were sitting next to Ravenclaws and Slytherins next to Gryffindors.

The group started to get a bit restless, and Neville knew it was time to start. He looked at Luna, who simply smiled at him. She seemed to project a sense of calm no matter the situation. Even when they had fought in the Department of Mysteries, it had been the same.

Hoping he didn't look too awkward, Neville stood up and cleared his throat. "Erm…" He stopped instantly. What sort of impression would 'erm' make? Not a very good one he decided gloomily. "Thank you all for coming," he continued, trying to sound casual. "I think we all know why we're here-"

Zacharias Smith cut him off. "Yes, we do," he said rudely. "So when do we start?"

"Shut up, Smith and let him speak," Millicent said with a glare that Neville was quite glad wasn't directed at him.

Neville relaxed instantly and took a deep breath. Everyone here sitting at these table was on his side. They had all agreed to be here to discuss studying defensive magic in secret. Neville knew they all had to support each other or this would never work. There were no enemies here.

With more confidence, Neville told the group, "Basically, we need to decide on a time to meet and who should run the meetings." Neville didn't say in charge, because he didn't want the same feeling like fifth year, where everyone knew that Harry was more important than everyone else in the room.

At the mention of meeting time, Luna pulled out a piece of parchment. The entire group looked suspiciously at the parchment. Neville knew why at once. No one wanted to risk what happened last time.

Luna explained the parchment to the group quickly, and Neville noticed that when she said that only she would be to blame if anyone discovered the parchment, people looked impressed.

"But what happens if someone just blabs?" asked Orla Quirke.

"Well, we're technically not doing anything illegal," Neville said, sticking his hands in his pockets. "We're asking for secrecy since this was invitation only. I'd prefer to keep it that way. I don't want people's feelings hurt."

"And there's no Umbitch around to tell us what to do," Susan Bones said with a laugh.

With the mention of Umbridge, Neville saw several students shoot hateful glares towards the Slytherins in attendance while the former members of the Inquisitorial Squad all looked uncomfortable. Apparently that chapter in Hogwarts history hadn't been forgotten yet.

"So how will we know what time the first meeting is?" asked Millicent, her eyes narrowing as if she expected the first official meeting to happen without her knowledge. "Word of mouth?"

Luna was prepared for this question as well. She pulled out a bag of fake galleons, the same type that the D.A. had used two years ago. Neville had been slightly amazed when Luna had no problem duplicating the spell that Hermione had used on the coins. That was advanced magic! Something that wasn't even taught at Hogwarts, and Luna performed the spell like it was a First Year Charms lesson.

The bag was discretely passed around the tables. Neville took the last two in the bag and handed one to Luna. They could have used the coins they had used before – Neville still had his and was fairly sure that Luna had hers – but he liked the idea of starting fresh. A new coin for a new group.

"So who's the leader?" asked Dean Thomas asked.

Neville let out a breath. There it was. The question that everyone really had on their minds. He knew he could go on and say that there didn't need to be a leader, that they could all work together, but Neville knew that everyone probably wanted one.

He looked at Ginny, who was staring at her hands. "I nominate Ginny Weasley," he said. Neville truly thought that she would do a great job running the D.A.

Ginny looked up instantly, shaking her head. "I can't, Neville."

"Why?" asked Neville.

"I can barely keep up running the Quidditch team. I can't take on any more responsibilities," she said quickly. "Thank you, though."

Nodding, Neville turned back to the group. "Does anyone have a nomination?"

Across from his, Zacharias Smith and Justin Finch-Fletchley were whispering. "I nominate Zach Smith, here. He is Head Boy, after all," Justin announced finally.

"Anyone else?" asked Neville, hoping desperately that someone, anyone, other than Smith would be nominated. He looked around. Susan Bones might make a good leader, or perhaps even Anthony Goldstein.

"I said it before, mate," Seamus Finnigan said easily. "It was your idea. You should lead."

The majority of the group all murmured their agreement. Neville felt his cheeks flush and instantly felt foolish. How could he lead a group if he couldn't stop blushing? "Thank you," Neville replied sincerely. "Anyone else?"

No one else was nominated. "Let's put it to a vote," Neville started awkwardly. It didn't feel right to preside over a vote where he was one of the candidates.

Luckily, Ginny seemed to realise his discomfort and stood up. "Alright, if you want Smith here to lead, raise your hand," she said. Only three people, Zacharias, Justin and Susan Bones, who was dating Smith, raised their hands.

"And if you want Neville here to lead the meetings, the person who thought of this idea and brought us together, raise your hands."

Sixteen people raised their hands at once, leaving Neville's mouth dry. He had never won anything before in his life. And here he was, in a position where he was just chosen by his peers… It was a bit overwhelming.

Neville knew he had to say something or look a bit like an idiot in everyone's eyes. "Thank you," he said softly. He raised the parchment with the magical creatures and added, "Mark you free times and we'll let you know."

A small line formed in front of Luna while she told everyone which creature represented them. There were a few grumbles – Smith seemed distinctly put out when Luna told him that his creature was best known for its world class fertilizer – but the majority seemed pleased.

Twenty minutes passed before the tables were empty, leaving Neville and Luna by themselves. "That went well," Neville said to himself, more than to Luna.

"Did it?" asked Luna as she poured over the parchment.

"You didn't think so?" Neville asked, slightly disappointed.

"I don't know if I'd be able to tell either way," Luna said truthfully.

He watched Luna pour over the parchment. "Please tell me there's a time when we can all meet."

"There is," Luna said, biting her lower lip. "But I don't think many people will like it."

"When?"

"Saturday nights."

"I don't mind that," Neville told her. He rarely had anything to do on Saturday nights.

"Neither do I," Luna said. "But some might think it will impede on their social lives."

"Well, it's not like it would be every Saturday night," Neville said thoughtfully. "It would only be every other Saturday." He scratched his head. "I think it will work. Curfew's later, so we can practice longer."

"So Saturday?"

"Saturday it is," Neville said. "A week from today?"

Luna nodded eagerly. "Do you want me to charm the coin now?"

Neville broke out into a wide grin. "Why not?" But then he realised how much he needed to accomplish before then, figuring out a lesson plan of sorts, not to mention making sure he could actually perform the seventh year and advanced spells as not to make a fool out of himself at the first official meeting.

As Luna tapped her coin with her wand and Neville felt the small ridges on his change beneath his fingers, Neville's stomach did a bit of a twist. What had he gotten himself into?

* * *

**A/N – The Winged Barrett is named after my favorite Cubs player who was traded to another team this week. :( **

**The Yellow Rattler is a real drink, made of gin, dry and sweet vermouth and orange juice. It is served with an onion.**

** I'm not certain if I'm going to be able to finish this or not before the release of Deathly Hallows. I have no other writing obligations, so I'm hoping that I will be able to go on a tear. Wish me luck!  
**


	5. The Initial Convergence

**A/N - Many thanks to codenamelily for her beta work!**

* * *

**The Initial Convergence**

Seamus Finnigan slapped the newspaper down on the table dramatically. "Snape's been spotted!"

"What?" Dean practically yelled, grabbing the paper out of Seamus' hands. "Where?" His eyes scanned the paper greedily. Neville sat on the edge of the bench, wanting to hear every detail.

"Knockturn Alley," Seamus said, apparently not willing to wait for Dean to read the article. "The Apothecary's Shoppe."

"Why would Snape risk being seen like that?" Neville asked. "He's not an idiot. Why not send someone if he had to go to the Apothecary?"

"Maybe spending all that time with the Death Eaters is addling his brains," Dean muttered.

Neville looked around. Mail had just been delivered and by now almost every single student had heard about the headline. What before had been a simple murmur around the Great Hall escalated to almost a dull roar.

"I bet he did this on purpose," Neville said thoughtfully. "There's no other reason. He could have used an Invisibility Cloak, or Disillusioned himself. There are even potions that I'm sure he could make to allow him to be invisible for a bit and not be seen."

Dean and Seamus looked impressed. "You're probably right," Dean said slowly. "I hadn't even thought that he could be invisible."

"And not to mention that it might not even have been him," Neville continued, his mind thinking of all of the different explanations of the sighting. "What if someone used Polyjuice Potion or it was a Metamorphmagi?"

"We get the point, Neville," Seamus laughed. "Snape did this on purpose."

"And anyway, we need to talk about more important things," Dean said, slinging his arm around Seamus' shoulders.

"Like why you're ruining our social lives," Seamus said with a grin. "Saturday nights?"

Neville held out his hands helplessly and shrugged. "That's the only time all twenty of us can meet. Between four different Quidditch teams, the Gobstone Club, the choir, the-"

"Fine, we get the point." Dean sighed and looked at Seamus. "You know what this means, Seamus?"

Seamus pressed a finger to his lips and seemed to contemplate the question. "What exactly does this mean, mate?"

"We have to find girlfriends that are in the D.A.," Dean said with an authoritative nod.

"I like your thinking," Seamus said with a smirk. "Let's go over our options."

"You two are horrible," Neville laughed.

Dean put his hand over his heart and looked wounded. "Just because your girlfriend is already in the D.A. doesn't mean we shouldn't try the same thing."

Seamus nudged Dean. "Luna's not his girlfriend," he said in a whisper loud enough for Neville to hear.

"She's not? Why isn't she?" Dean asked, looking surprised. "I see you two together all of the time."

Neville felt his cheeks go red. He desperately wanted to get out of this conversation without like a pansy. Forcing a grin on his face, he replied, "I see you and Seamus together all of the time and I don't think that he's your girlfriend."

Seamus and Dean both laughed out loud. Neville let out a breath, and could feel himself relaxing. "Touché, my friend," Dean said. "Well, let's figure out who we can start courting."

Neville concentrated on the rest of his porridge while Dean decided to pursue Rose Zeller and Seamus, Orla Quirke. Dean's question, the one where he asked why Luna wasn't his girlfriend, stayed with him for the rest of the day. So much so, that he found himself answering "Luna eclipse," instead of the correct answer of "Lunar eclipse," in Astronomy that afternoon.

He had never thought of Luna as anything but a friend. A good friend. One of his closest friends, actually. But he had never even considered Luna as anything more than that. Was that wrong? Neville supposed that most blokes in his situation would have gone after the girl, but as he was reminded of almost daily, he wasn't like most blokes.

It's not like there was anyone else he was interested in. Almost a year had passed since he had had a crush on a girl. And nothing good came from that, remembering how he had learned of Hannah Abbott's mother's death. He had sent a card, and tried to keep in touch, but understood when the amount of time between her replies to his letters became longer and longer.

Neville nodded to himself. It was best that he concentrate on school and the D.A. right now. There were only so many distractions that he could take at once.

* * *

_"We need a place where we all can practice,"_ Neville thought to himself, as he paced in front of the Room of Requirements. _"A place where we can all fit comfortably." _

In his mind, he pictured the room that the D.A. used during his fifth year, with its wooden bookcases and silk cushions. A moment later, the door appeared and Neville let himself inside. A smile quickly formed on his face, the room that he conjured was just as he remembered it. He looked wistfully at the books. Hermione had loved them.

Thinking of Hermione, Neville pulled out the letter that Harry had sent him just this morning. A while back, Neville realised that he felt slightly guilty for starting up the D.A. again without Harry's knowledge. It was Harry, after all, who started the whole thing. To ease his conscious, after he had been elected as the leader of the D.A., Neville wrote Harry a letter, telling him what he hoped to accomplish.

Harry had written back just this morning, telling Neville that he was thrilled that the D.A. was starting up again, which pleased Neville greatly. He had hoped that Harry might leave some hint, sharing exactly what he was up to, why he wasn't at Hogwarts, but Harry didn't mention a thing.

Neville wasn't the only one that was curious. Just yesterday, the _Daily Prophet_ dedicated its entire paper to Harry. The headline read _Where is the Boy-Who-Lived? _Rita Skeeter had written the accompanying article, wondering why the Ministry was letting the most important person in the war go off on his own, with no supervision. Neville had rolled his eyes at the article. Skeeter conveniently forgot to mention the fact that Harry was of age, and didn't have to answer to the Ministry unless he wanted to.

The door to the Room of Requirements opened and Luna stepped inside. She looked around, seemingly taking in the details of the room. "It's a bit chilly in here, isn't it?" she asked finally.

In the corner of the room, several jumpers and cardigans appeared. Luna happily picked up a plum coloured cardigan and wrapped it around her shoulders. "Much better."

"This is it," Neville said, trying to get himself excited about the meeting. Though the truth was that he was so nervous that he was surprised he couldn't hear his knees shaking.

Luna looked around worriedly. "What's it? Did you see something?"

"No, no," Neville said at once, not wanting to inadvertently worry her. "It's almost time for the meeting."

"Oh," Luna sighed, visibly relaxing. "That."

"That," Neville repeated, feeling slightly foolish.

"It's going to be fine, you know," Luna said, patting his should awkwardly. "And if it's not-"

"It's not." Neville finished her sentence with a sigh.

The door opened again and a number of students walked in. Dean Thomas was talking animatedly with Rose Zeller, apparently wanting to pursue the Hufflepuff right away. Ginny, followed by Pansy Parkinson and Millicent Bulstrode.

Slowly, the room filled up, and before Neville realised it, everyone was here. He looked at the nineteen students who had elected him to lead them. They trusted him enough to bring this group together. Neville desperately hoped that they wouldn't regret their decision.

He cleared his throat and stood up. Neville had written a short speech, something to inspire everyone and to promote House cooperation, but he couldn't remember any of it. Not a single word.

So he would improvise. That, he could do. He had certainly improvised before, from fighting Crabbe and Goyle a few years back to dueling Greyback last year.

Taking a deep breath – all the way down to his toes, like Luna had suggested - Neville started. "We're going to begin with a bit of a review. Make sure we're all on the same parchment, so to speak." Neville was quite pleased with how that sounded. His voice didn't break at all, and he sounded confident. He certainly couldn't ask for anymore than that. Neville continued, "We'll start with Disarming spells,"

Over on one side, Zacharias Smith let out an audible moan. "We learned those the first time around," Smith challenged.

Neville knew that this was his very first test as the leader of the D.A. If he were to hem and hah because of Smith, or worse, agree with him and change his careful planning, Neville knew he would lose the group and Smith might as well take over.

On a whim, Neville asked the group, "Raise your hand if you weren't a part of the first D.A." Seven students raised their hands. Neville looked back pointedly at Smith. "We're working on Disarming spells."

Everyone stood up and started to pair off. Neville saw that almost everyone was pairing up with someone from their own house, which of course was against all of the reasons Neville wanted to start the D.A again in the first place. "New rule," Neville called out. "No pairing off with a student in your own house."

A murmur rose up among the students. And there were faces - mostly Slytherin - that looked a bit offended. Fortunately, no one challenged him and Neville watched in satisfaction as Pansy Parkinson paired up with Ginny, and Theodore Nott with Susan Bones. But then a great deal of that good mood deflated when he noticed that Luna was the only one left without a partner, though she didn't look put out in the slightest. Ginny saw that Luna was partnerless as well and immediately invited her to join her and Pansy.

"Does anyone have any questions about the spell?" asked Neville. "About how it's pronounced or anything else before we start?"

Hearing Smith mutter, "Let's just get this over with," Neville tried hard not to roll his eyes. If Smith was a pain in Harry's neck two years ago, Neville was certain that he'd be a pain in his neck as well. Just something that he would have to deal with.

No one else said anything, so Neville said, "Begin."

Flashes of light whizzed around the room, with the occasional shout of glee or curse word overheard. Neville knew that this was the time when he should be walking around and making suggestions for improvements.

He could remember the first time he successfully disarmed someone. Neville knew that it hadn't been a real disarming; Harry hadn't been paying attention whatsoever, but Neville still treasured the memory. It had been a real breakthrough for him, letting him believe that he actually could perform magic if he worked hard enough.

And over the next few months, Neville had made it his goal to become a better wizard. That wish had intensified when he saw that Bellatrix Lestrange had escaped from Azkaban. He still had the newspaper that announced the escape. Every so often, he would bring it out, pages becoming yellow with age, and looked at the article, seeing the Lestranges faces staring back at him.

It helped him focus. Helped him remember that he always had to be careful. That realisation practically hit him in the face when Neville had seen Bellatrix Lestrange during the Battle at the Department of Mysteries. The smile on her face when she spoke of his parents had sickened him. And seeing her in person, when she had all of her wits and his parents none…

Snapping back to attention when he felt his fingernails digging into his palm, Neville forced himself to take a deep breath and relax. Thinking of that woman would do absolutely no good. And looking at the D.A. in front of him, he had much more important things to think about.

Neville started to walk around and watch the practice. He couldn't help but be secretly pleased when Cecelia Warrington disarmed Zacharias Smith easily. But then another thought crossed his mind. If this hadn't been an exercise, if they were fighting real Death Eaters, Smith would dead. The thought sobered Neville instantly and he felt ashamed for being pleased, even just for a second.

But then the shame was replaced by an intense, burning desire to have everyone in this room learn how to defend themselves. If Neville could help even one of the members of the D.A. to learn how to protect themselves, all this worry, all the nervousness of leading the group would be worth it.

At that moment, Neville realised that the D.A. was much more than simply studying and practicing for N.E.W.T.s. They were training to keep themselves alive. There was no guarantee that Death Eaters wouldn't burst through this door and attack. They simply had to be ready at all times.

"Constant vigilance," Neville muttered to himself, remembering the words of the old Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

"What was that?" Smith asked, clearly annoyed that Cecelia had Disarmed him so quickly.

"Let me see it again," Neville told him, not bothering to answer the question.

Smith rolled his eyes as he picked up his wand and faced Cecelia, who looked at Neville questioningly. Neville nodded, and Cecelia shouted, _"Expelliarmus!"_

Watching Smith's reaction, Neville noticed that the Hufflepuff wasn't really making any effort to defend himself, causing his wand to be snatched easily from his hand. Neville looked at Smith seriously. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

"What do you mean?" asked Smith angrily.

"If this was real, you'd have no wand and you'd be dead," Neville said simply.

"It wasn't real," Smith mumbled, looking slightly embarrassed. Perhaps that thought hadn't crossed his mind.

"Try it again and make an effort this time," Neville ordered. It felt a bit odd to be ordering the Head Boy of Hogwarts around, but the fact that Smith actually seemed to be listening, at least slightly, helped a lot with that.

Smith bent down and picked up his wand. Neville looked over at Cecelia. "You're doing a fine job," he said with a grin. "Keep it up." Cecelia broke into a smile that Neville found quite endearing.

"Are you ready?" Cecelia asked Smith.

Smith nodded and held out his wand. Neville was pleased to see that Smith's entire demeanor was different this time. His body was alert and even a bit tense.

_"Expelliarmus!" _

This time, Smith was ready_. "Protego!" _The Shield Charm worked instantly, causing the Charm to bounce back towards Cecelia, who quickly ducked and missed being nicked by inches.

"Happy?" Smith asked, chin raised, hands on his hips.

"Yes," Neville said simply before walking over the next group.

Most of the students seemed to have a good grasp on the spell. Though he was going to have to figure out how to help Kevin Bundy, who had a bit of a lisp. The best option would probably to come up with a list of spells that wouldn't require Kevin to say 's' or 'x.'

The group then worked on Shielding Charms and Stunning Spells for the rest of the evening. When they practiced Stunning Spells, it was disconcerting to see so many of the group fall down onto the thick cushions. But every time someone who had not been able to block the spell stood up, Neville could see the determination on their faces. He knew that feeling well, and was glad that others were experiencing it, too.

Finally, at ten o'clock, Neville ended the meeting, wanting to make sure that everyone had plenty of time to get back to their respective Common Rooms by the eleven o'clock weekend curfew. But to Neville's surprise, only a few students left. The majority all stayed in the room. A few kept practicing but even more sat down and just started talking.

Well, Neville decided, it was a Saturday night, after all. It certainly didn't hurt to combine work and play. There was a touch at his elbow and Neville turned to see Luna next to him.

Neville wanted nothing more than to sit down with Luna and dissect every detail of the meeting, but he knew that wasn't an option, not with so many students lingering behind who could overhear. Motioning to a couple of nearby cushions, Neville sat down and Luna followed.

Luna looked like she was about to say something when Lavender Brown tapped his shoulder. "What are we going to work on next time?" she asked.

"Surprise," Neville said with a grin. The next meeting was already planned out; Neville was going to start introducing the Seventh Year lesson plan and teach Binding Spells, which would allow them to tie up a foe without actually having to Stun them. Neville and Luna had already been practicing the spells, and Luna was ace at the spell after only a few tries.

Lavender rolled her eyes with a smile and turned around to continue talking to Seamus. Neville glanced over at Luna, who was playing with a charm bracelet that she was wearing. She looked up at him and smiled. "Did you think the meeting went well?"

"We can talk about it later," Neville said in a low voice, not wanting anyone, especially Smith, who was talking to Susan Bones only a few cushions away, to overhear.

Luna shrugged. "If you want."

They chatted easily for the next half hour or so, until Neville thought if they left any later, they might not make it back to their Common Rooms in time. By that point, there were no other Ravenclaws left in the Room of Requirements. "Do you want me to walk with you to your Common Room?" Neville asked.

Luna blinked slowly. "Why?" she asked. "You're not allowed in."

"I know that," Neville said, feeling his cheeks redden. He was only trying to be polite. "I just thought you might like the company."

"Oh," Luna said with a smile. "You could have just said that."

"You would like company?" asked Neville, feeling a bit helpless.

"Yes, please," Luna told him.

They were the last two to leave the Room of Requirement, but not before Dean walked by with an exaggerated wink that Neville desperately hoped Luna hadn't noticed.

The halls were quiet, with only the occasional passing ghost. Luna said hello to the Grey Lady, who acted like she hadn't heard the greeting. Once the ghost passed, Luna asked in a quiet voice, "Do you ever feel invisible?"

Neville let out a breath, wondering if it was worth even trying to count the number of times he felt exactly that. "I have," Neville told her. "I do."

Luna said nothing else as they walked to the doorway of the Ravenclaw Tower. There was an intensity on her face when she turned to look to him. "I'm glad you can see me, Neville Longbottom."

She then said the password and scampered up the stairs so quickly that Neville didn't have the chance to tell her that he was glad that she could see him, too.

* * *

**A/N - I'm still on schedule! **


End file.
